If you use these apps, don’t upgrade to the Fire TV Stick 4K Select just yet

When Amazon launched the Fire TV Stick 4K Select last month, its main highlight wasn’t its specs (which are mediocre); it was that it runs on an entirely new operating system called Vega OS.

Vega OS is a Linux-based operating system, which is a departure from Fire OS, the Android-based OS that has powered Fire TV Sticks since their debut in 2014. While Amazon claims Vega OS is “responsive and highly efficient,” one of the main downsides is that it currently supports a significantly smaller number of apps than Fire OS, including many VPNs. However, this will soon change.

IPVanish, a popular VPN service for streaming devices, has announced the completion of a new app designed for Vega OS, making it ready to support the Fire TV Stick 4K Select and the next generation of Fire TV devices. This means if you’ve picked up Amazon’s latest Fire TV Stick, you’ll soon be able to enable its VPN services on it. But there is a catch to all this. While IPVanish has its app ready for people to download and use on the 4K Select, it can’t launch yet because Amazon isn’t ready.

Amazon shipped the 4K Select and Vega OS without VPN support

NordVPN is also waiting to launch on Vega OS

The reason IPVanish and other VPN services can’t launch on Vega OS and the Fire TV Stick 4K Select yet is because Amazon launched the streaming stick without support for VPN protocols. When it launched, Amazon said it planned to add VPN support “soon.”

IPVanish isn’t the only app to run into this issue, either. NordVPN developed an app for Vega OS as well, saying in a statement to Cord Busters that “Amazon plans to enable VPN protocols via a software update in late October. Our app is ready, and we’ll make it available in the Amazon Appstore for the new Fire TV devices as soon as that update goes live.”

It seems that the update NordVPN was waiting for was clearly pushed back then, as it’s now early November. According to TechRadar, Amazon is planning to add VPN support to the 4K Select via a software update to Vega OS in mid-November.

Vega OS still seems like an experiment by Amazon rather than a finished product, and the fact that it doesn’t support VPN services yet, or cloud gaming via Luna or Xbox Game Pass, like its Fire OS counterparts do, is proof in the pudding.

Considering the ability to access VPN services on a Fire TV Stick is one of the main advantages of owning one of Amazon’s streaming sticks in the first place, it is silly to me that Amazon launched the 4K Select without it. However, at least app makers are developing new apps for Vega OS, which is a positive sign for the future of the operating system. Additionally, IPVanish, which claims to be the most downloaded VPN on Fire TV, has stated that it has no plans to leave behind Fire OS either.

“We want to make sure that customers who buy any model of Fire TV can get great security and privacy, no matter the operating system running on their device,” said Subbu Sthanu, Chief Commercial Officer of IPVanish (via TechRadar). “That’s why we have made sure we will be available on the first day that Vega OS supports VPNs.”

To me, Vega OS still seems like an experiment by Amazon rather than a finished product, and the fact that it doesn’t support VPN services yet, or cloud gaming via Luna or Xbox Game Pass, like its Fire OS counterparts do, is proof. Until Vega OS is more fleshed out, we likely won’t see a new Fire TV Stick 4K Plus or 4K Max.